Anxiety Disorder: Eight Facts You Should Know

Amy Taylor June 14, 2016

Anxiety disorder remains to be one of the most common mental illnesses in the world. But contrary to popular view, this condition is more than excessive worrying. Like depression, PSTD and other mental health disorders, anxiety disorder is a debilitating, disabling condition that requires treatment.

What does research say about anxiety disorder? Here are interesting facts:

It tends to affect young people more.

Young adults have been found to be more prone to anxiety disorder than the older ones. Teens are particularly more vulnerable because they are still in the stage wherein they are exploring their identity and trying to ‘fit in’. On the other hand, older people are likely to have more stable relationships and an established personal identity. But this doesn’t mean they are no longer prone to anxiety disorder. It still affects a significant portion of the older adult population.

It can be linked to one’s traumatic past.

People who have experienced trauma especially during childhood are most susceptible to developing anxiety disorder. Research from Mayo Medical School revealed that 82% of those who have experienced sexual abuse develop anxiety disorder sometime in their lifetime.

Women are twice more likely to have it than men.

Women are nearly twice as likely to suffer from anxiety disorder as men, according to a global review carried out by researchers from Cambridge University. The review, which involved 48 studies, suggests that more than 60 million people were affected by anxiety disorders every year in the EU.

Addiction is tied to anxiety disorder too.

Worldwide, the presence of anxiety symptoms among people who use opioids range from 2 to 60 per cent. Meanwhile, those who were diagnosed with the disorder amount to 29 per cent. Addictive drugs cause severe changes in the brain, which leads to change in one’s mental health condition too. Treating addiction may reduce the anxiety symptoms associated with it.

Some pregnant women may develop anxiety disorder too.

Pregnant and postpartum women are generally more prone to anxiety disorder than the general population. Researchers from the University of Sussex found that women in their pre- and post-natal period have 15 and 14 per cent risk of developing anxiety disorder, respectively.

Anxiety affects a sufferer physically and mentally.

While the most common symptom of anxiety disorder is excessive worrying, it does have physical symptoms too. Some notable symptoms, especially during a panic attack, are shortness of breath, nausea, rapid heartbeat, dizziness and shaking.

It might be traced in the brain.

While the biological causes of anxiety disorder are still a subject of scientific scrutiny, studies that involve brain scans of people with the disorder provides evidence of chemical imbalances.

HELP is available.

Despite it being such a debilitating serious condition, anxiety disorder can be treated. There are several therapies available apart from symptom-relieving medications. A proven treatment is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). There are also self-help strategies that can help reduce anxiety symptoms without the harsh consequences of medications. They include exercising regularly, stopping smoking, and cutting down on the intake of alcohol and caffeinated beverages.